The Playstation Blog has a new post on Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13, pointing out the game’s secretly held mechanic: resource management.
Everything in the game, from the time you have to play, the resources available, even the enemies you can face, are finite and cannot be wasted. And of course, everything you do eats away at the time you have to save the world, making the scarcest, ultimate resource.
As they point out, this is a rare limitation to be placed on a Japanese RPG. There is a known precedent for it: Dragon Slayer Junior, also known as Romancia. Released in 1986 for Japanese computers, 1988 to Famicom, and eventually Windows in 1999, Romancia was a complete departure from the RPG mechanics of its predecessors. Lacking stats or any form of customization, it was a total action-adventure game.
While Lightning Returns still retains RPG elements, it deemphasizes many popular tropes of RPGs. No more grinding for this Final Fantasy; it’s all about behaving and actually meeting set objectives. Items are hard to collect from the start because of their cost and inaccessibility.
Lightning still retains a lot of customizability thanks to the clothing and weaponry system, which equips her into different ‘Schemata.’ As they put it, the degree of customizability is staggering. This time, however, trying out the different outfit and weapon combinations seems to warrant multiple playthroughs rather than accumulating playtime.
Overall, it looks like Lightning Returns is a more linear Final Fantasy than usual. With the changes found within, could this be the Metroid Fusion of the franchise? Or, as I’m sure some people will argue, its Metroid Other M?
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy 13 is coming to PS3 in the US this February 11.